On the north coast of Germanynear the border with Denmarkarchaeologists discovered the ruins of the city of Rungholta settlement believed to be fictional. This German city was swallowed up by the sea in 1362ravaged by a storm that could not hold back the city’s defenses.

The main evidence of the existence of this place is the church, which they found under the North Sea using magnetic techniques. The team from the University of Kiel, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, the Center for Baltic and Scandinavian Archeology and the State Department of Archeology of Schleswig-Holstein say the discovery of the church was made just four weeks ago.

“The special thing about the find lies in the importance of the church as the center of a settlement structurewhich, because of its size, should be interpreted as a parish with a higher function,” said Dr. Ruth Blankenfeldt, an archaeologist at the Center for Baltic and Scandinavian Studies.

This shows that Rungholt existed and it wasn’t just a local legendas was the city of Atlantis, which many historians believe was destroyed and sunk under the Atlantic Ocean.

Scientists generally agree that Atlantis is a myth created 2300 years ago by the Greek philosopher Plato, unlike Rungholt.

The myth said that 660 years ago, God sent devastating weather to Rungholt as punishment for the sins of its inhabitants, thousands of whom died. According to legend, the city led a frivolous and proud life because of the great wealth that the port possessed and for this reason they got the storm that swept away the city.

However, the researchers are more concerned with how to preserve the ruins of the ancient city.

Around Hallig Südfall and in other swamps, the remains of medieval settlements have already been heavily eroded and often only discovered as negative footprints,” says Dr. Hanna Hadler of the Institute of Geography at the University of Mainz.

“You can see that very well around the site of the church, so we urgently need to step up research herehe added.

That research could reveal more details about the storm that devastated Rungholt, as well as the lifestyle of its inhabitants and the influence of this city in Europe.